Baldwin: We move forward sans Paul, 2 others

TAB Baldwin has been around long enough to know that not everything can be rosy all the time.

“There’s no use crying over spilt milk,” the gentleman Gilas Pilipinas coach said yesterday after learning that Paul Lee will be out of the national team.

“The story of the day is, we take another step forward,” Baldwin said. “We got Gabe (Norwood) and Marcio (Lassiter) out on the court and that’s positive. We certainly don’t want a negative to be the story of the day. I feel good about our training today.”

Lee became the third blue-chip player in just over a week to inform Baldwin of his unavailability after Greg Slaughter and Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, who both begged off because of ankle injuries that would require surgeries.

“It’s reality, it happens every single year,” Baldwin said. “Hardly ever in my career that I have gone into any season or campaign with a fully healthy team. It’s part and parcel of being in sports, in professional sports.”

Lee could have provided Baldwin a solid outside threat.

“We all saw what he is capable of doing in the Finals,” Baldwin said of Lee. “As for Gilas, it’s a misfortune for us. I think he would be an asset to the team, but we don’t have him (now).”

Jeff Chan came to yesterday’s practice but did not play because of a groin injury he suffered during the recent PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals.

He, too, is cramming to get well.

The 6-foot-2 lefty, a vital part of the Gilas squad under Chot Reyes that won the Jones Cup in 2012 and finished second to Iran in the Manila Fiba-Asia the next year, needs some more rehab before he can get back on the court.

“This week? Not yet,” Chan said, when asked when he will be able to suit up. “We will see Friday after therapy. If there is still pain, I will have to undergo an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan.

“I still can’t play. I can still feel some pain.”

Alaska’s Calvin Abueva excused himself from yesterday’s practice because of a personal commitment, but Gilas welcomed Lassiter back from injury.

“I’m just trying to get back into it right now,” said the San Miguel Beer dead shot who missed the resumption of practice last week because of a bruised knee. “It feels good to be back playing.”